Historic manuscripts offered for auction here last year must be returned to the congregation of Temple Mikveh Israel Emmanuel on the island of Curacao, an Amsterdam district court ruled last week.
The manuscripts were being auctioned by Christie’s on behalf of a member of the Curacao congregation, Victor Pereira, who had claimed they were donated to him.
When members of the congregation on the island in the Dutch West Indies heard of the intended auction, they demanded that the sale be prevented.
The congregants then petitioned the Amsterdam District Court for the return of the valuable documents, which included correspondence between the Amsterdam Sephardic congregation and its sister congregation in Curacao.
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